Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium cultivar Magnet.
The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name xe2x80x98Magnetxe2x80x99.
The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable colors and good form and substance.
The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in November, 1997, in Salinas, Calif., the Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium cultivar Green Bay, disclosed in U.S. Plant Pat. No. 12,003, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Chrysanthemumxc3x97morifolium seedling selection identified as E488, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent.
The cultivar Magnet was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in November, 1998. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence color and good form and substance.
Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings taken in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. since February, 1999, has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive. generations.
Plants of the cultivar Magnet have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.
The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of xe2x80x98Magnetxe2x80x99. These characteristics in combination distinguish xe2x80x98Magnetxe2x80x99 as a new and distinct cultivar:
1. Upright cut Chrysanthemum that is usually grown as a natural spray.
2. Freely flowering habit, about nine inflorescences per flowering stem.
3. Small decorative-type inflorescences that are about 4.1 cm in diameter.
4. Attractive ray florets that are initially bright green in color that mature slowly; with development, ray florets become white giving a bi-colored appearance to the inflorescence.
5. Early flowering, response time about 47 days.
6. Dark green foliage.
7. Strong peduncles.
8. Good postproduction longevity with inflorescences and foliage maintaining good substance and color for about 14 to 18 days in an interior environment.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum are most similar to plants of the female parent, the cultivar Green Bay. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Green Bay in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum were taller than plants of the cultivar Green Bay.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flowered earlier than plants of the cultivar Green Bay.
3. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum were more freely flowering than plants of the cultivar Green Bay.
Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can be compared to plants of the male parent selection. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the male parent selection in the following characteristics:
1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum had smaller inflorescences than plants of the male parent selection.
2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum and the male parent selection differed in ray floret coloration as ray florets of plants of the male parent selection were more pure white in color.
3. Inflorescences of plants of the new Chrysanthemum did not produce pollen whereas inflorescences of plants of the male parent selection produced pollen.